Odds of a border agreement? 0 Chance..

Senate Appropriations chair sees ‘slim’ odds of a border agreement

By DAVID BEAVERS

Senate Appropriations Chairman Richard Shelby on Sunday put the chances of reaching an agreement to stave off another partial government shutdown as "slim" as long as President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remain at odds.

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union," the Alabama Republican told host Jake Tapper that “as long as the speaker and the president are at odds, the chances of us reaching an agreement are slim. But it could happen.”

"I believe we’ve got a chance this week to move things. Will we? I don’t know," Shelby added. "The president could be right: We could be wasting our time. On the other hand, we could come up with a solution."

Trump and congressional Democrats remain at odds over funding for his desired wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Congress and the White House have until Feb. 15 to come to an agreement to keep the government running.

The president has threatened to declare a national emergency to sidestep Congress in securing $5.7 billion for a border wall.

Asked by Tapper about such a declaration, Shelby acknowledged the president has "probably got some rights" under the Constitution to do so, but said "what we'd like to do is do it in the appropriations process."

"We've shown we can do it, if people leave us alone," Shelby added.